Editing Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (section)

{{short description|Principal protocol used to assign IPv4 addresses on an IPv4 network}}
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{{Internet protocol suite}}
The '''Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol''' ('''DHCP''') is a [[network protocol|network management protocol]] used on [[Internet Protocol]] (IP) networks for automatically assigning [[IP address]]es and other communication parameters to devices connected to the network using a [[client–server]] architecture.{{Ref RFC|2131}}{{rp|Introduction}}

The technology eliminates the need for individually configuring network devices manually, and consists of two network components, a centrally installed network DHCP [[Server (computing)|server]] and client instances of the [[protocol stack]] on each computer or device. When connected to the network, and periodically thereafter, a client [[Request–response|requests]] a set of parameters from the server using DHCP.

DHCP can be implemented on networks ranging in size from [[residential network]]s to large [[campus network]]s and regional ISP networks.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=Larry L. |last2=Davie |first2=Bruce S. |date=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BvaFreun1W8C&pg=PA372 |title=Computer Networks: A Systems Approach |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-12-385060-7 |edition=5th |access-date=March 21, 2019}}</ref> Many [[Router (computing)|routers]] and [[residential gateway]]s have DHCP server capability. Most residential network routers receive a [[Universally unique identifier|unique]] IP address within the ISP network. Within a local network, a DHCP server assigns a local IP address to each device.

DHCP services exist for networks running [[Internet Protocol version 4]] (IPv4), as well as version 6 ([[IPv6]]). The IPv6 version of the DHCP protocol is commonly called [[DHCPv6]].